Harvesting segments of the saphenous vein from the leg is a surgical procedure associated with coronary artery surgery. In general, segments of the patient's saphenous vein are removed, divided and repositioned in the coronary arterial system to improve coronary blood flow.
Early harvesting techniques involved conventional surgical cut down and open dissection of the leg to harvest the vein. In general less invasive procedures are preferred and several surgical devices have been developed to facilitate this procedure. See for example the "Mini Harvest" system manufactured by U.S. Surgical Corp. and the "VasoView" system manufactured by Origin as well as U.S. Pat. No. 5,667,480 to Knight et al. In general these systems are relatively complex and cumbersome in use although they are preferred over open dissection.